A Whale of a Purpose
Jun
08
2012
J Pod Came In and Stayed!
By
Rhapsody J-32 breaching. Image-Jeanne Hyde
The whales took a long time to get on by and whether they all did or not was a mystery.
A mystery, that is until I learned this morning that some had come back down sometime after 8:30 last night! I will say they sure have been quiet on the hydrophones lately.
So I was intrigued this morning to find out just who was out there, I figured it would be Group B of J pod, mainly because Granny's group, Group A, had been the first to go north past the lighthouse yesterday way before the others came up. I hadn't seen Slick J-16 and family so I wasn't too sure who they were with.
I went out on Maya's Westside Charters for a morning trip and we didn't have far to go, the whales were near Lime Kiln.The first whale we saw wasPrincess Angeline J-17, and Moby J-44 was with her.
Someone thought they had seen Shachi J-19 and Eclipse J-41, but that didn't fit!...ah, but when I saw Rhapsody J-32 breach, and then heard that Blackberry J-27 was far offshore, being mistaken for Onyx L-87, I knew we had Group B (J11s, J17s, J22s). By the time we saw him he was moving up island slowly.
Jun
04
2012
Is There A Trend Happening Here?
By
Harbor Seal feeding on Salmon. Image-Jeanne Hyde
Are they eating octopus because there are no salmon? The three sightings, so far, were in Haro Strait, one near Battleship Island, one from shore at Lime Kiln and the third today a couple miles from shore near False Bay.
Harbor Seals have been eating octopus on June 3rd from shore, and another Harbor Seal on June 4th as we were returning from Race Rocks.
Are the transients not around so much this year because they don't like the taste of harbor seals who have been eating octopus, and they prefer harbor seals who have been eating salmon?...that's a stretch.
But, it's not a stretch to say there's not enough salmon for the whales. I hope that will change soon, but if not, we hope the whales are finding plenty of salmon wherever they are. Their survival depends on it, having just lost 3 whales from the Community is sad enough, the thought of losing more because the humans have not been good stewards of the oceans is the worst part.